Heavy minerals, such as platinum and gold, are often found in association with magnetic igneous rocks and are concentrated into placer deposits by chemical and physical weathering processes. Although such heavy minerals are not magnetic in themselves, they are frequently found in surface and subsurface deposits bearing magnetic minerals. For example, it is known that platinum and gold bearing placer mineral deposits often contain magnetite and chromite. The quantity of magnetite and/or chromite can be used as a prospecting guide for deposits enriched in platinum or gold.
Previous prospecting techniques for such heavy minerals have employed geochemical methods, primarily chemical analysis of core samples in the laboratory. Also magnetometers have been used to take advantage of the close association of platinum and gold with magnetite and chromite (See Introduction to Geophysical Prospecting, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York, 1960, pages 315-316).